China Clears Adama and Sanonda Merger
The China Securities Regulatory Commission has cleared the merger of Israeli agrochemicals company Adama Agricultural Solutions with Jinzhou-based pesticide producer, Sanonda. Both firms are owned by ChemChina, which itself is acquiring Swiss agrochemicals giant Syngenta. ChemChina took full control of Adama last year after paying $1.4 billion to Israel’s Discount Investment for the remaining 40% share, paving the way for the merger with Sanonda.
The deal represents a reverse merger for Adama, which is around 10 times the size of Sanonda – the Chinese company has annual revenues of around $300 million. At current market prices, the combined company’s pro-forma equity is about $4.6 billion, giving a pro-forma enterprise value of around $5.7 billion.
The transaction is still subject to certain (undefined) additional regulatory approvals but is expected to close in the coming weeks, after which the new company will float on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
With sales of $3.35 billion (2016), the combination will be the sixth largest crop protection company in the world and the biggest in China, as well as the first to be publicly traded on the flagship A-share market. It will operate under the Adama name and be led by Adama’s global management team, which will be joined by executives from China. Central functions will continue to run from Israel, including global R&D, registration and operations.
The new group also plans to raise around $250 million in new equity, which will be used to accelerate growth and fund Adama’s expansion plans.
ChemChina previously agreed to divest a significant part of Adama’s portfolio to satisfy antitrust requirements for the takeover of Syngenta in both the US and Europe.
